1 00:00:14,140 --> 00:00:20,859 Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church Podcast. If you are seeking a closer relationship with 2 00:00:20,859 --> 00:00:26,579 Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you. Thank you for joining us today. 3 00:00:37,220 --> 00:00:48,460 Let's open up to Romans chapter 16. We are wrapping up Romans. See? We're wrapping up 4 00:00:48,460 --> 00:00:54,280 Romans. It's hard to believe, you know, we're finally at the end of this letter and it's 5 00:00:54,280 --> 00:01:00,640 been, you know, it's just every time you read the word and study, you just learn more and more. 6 00:01:00,799 --> 00:01:06,939 I've learned more about Romans this time than the last time. And that's just the way the Lord is. 7 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:14,280 He keeps teaching us, doesn't he, through His word. And, you know, if I had to choose a 8 00:01:15,180 --> 00:01:24,120 secondary message, it would be the Kingdom Network. And you'll see why. Let's pray and ask the 9 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:30,760 Lord to move powerfully here. Lord, we thank you for your word. Your word and your spirit 10 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:39,760 accomplishes everything. And so, Lord, we ask you to use your word to do whatever work needs to 11 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:48,920 be done in our mind, in our hearts, in our spirits, in our souls, Lord. And in this family of 12 00:01:48,980 --> 00:01:55,560 believers, Lord, and after we leave here, do whatever work you want to do in our lives so that 13 00:01:55,560 --> 00:02:02,480 we can be that picture of you to the world. And so, Lord, I ask you, Lord, specifically, 14 00:02:02,659 --> 00:02:10,020 just to give me clarity of mind and direction and that only what's necessary to be shared 15 00:02:10,939 --> 00:02:19,840 and that's just in Jesus' name, amen. You know, Kingdom Network. And the reason is we're going to 16 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:27,219 see here that Paul, this is kind of like a farewell, but also we're going to be back together again 17 00:02:27,219 --> 00:02:33,139 soon. And he's going to say a lot of names in this chapter, 26 names, you know, and actually 18 00:02:33,139 --> 00:02:38,979 a third of them are women, which we'll talk about later. And he's going to just talk about 19 00:02:38,979 --> 00:02:44,280 all these people he has met, all these relationships he has collected along the way. 20 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:51,599 While he's writing this, he's in the midst of his third missionary journey. And as he's talking to 21 00:02:51,599 --> 00:02:58,240 them and remembering probably all the connections he had with them, all the experiences, just like 22 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:04,340 Jess and Jimmy actually had experiences in Albania that they'll never forget. And they've probably 23 00:03:04,340 --> 00:03:10,080 made some relationships there that they will never forget. And perhaps they will reach out again, 24 00:03:10,300 --> 00:03:16,759 you know, this side of heaven and talk to them again. And if not this side, eventually Jim will 25 00:03:16,759 --> 00:03:22,379 meet this young man who accepted Christ and his friend and they'll be high-fiving each other and 26 00:03:22,379 --> 00:03:27,199 saying, wow, that was a great time and look where it got us all, you know. And so, you 27 00:03:27,199 --> 00:03:33,960 know, this kind of networking together for the Kingdom of God is so important for us to really 28 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:41,240 be part of that network. None of us does all the work on our own, right? We're part of a network 29 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:49,539 and we need communication with each other. And this is Paul writing to Rome and many of the people 30 00:03:49,539 --> 00:03:56,520 that he served with throughout Asia and in Greece are now living in Rome. Probably one of the reasons 31 00:03:56,520 --> 00:04:01,560 why he wants to get there too, because he misses them and he wants to see them again, 32 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:07,699 but he's connecting with them and he remembers all these people. He's communicating because he 33 00:04:07,699 --> 00:04:12,639 doesn't want to lose contact with them. I mean, nowadays you can literally just 34 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:19,420 FaceTime someone in Albania or somewhere else. And as long as you get the timing, right, 35 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:24,660 that they're not sleeping, right, you can talk anytime. I mean, nowadays it's so easy to 36 00:04:24,660 --> 00:04:31,600 communicate. But back then, imagine a letter that will take months to get there, okay? The difficulty 37 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:37,379 in staying in touch, but Paul realized it's important to keep that connection with people 38 00:04:37,379 --> 00:04:43,360 so that we can help one another and expand the gospel, expand the Kingdom of God we need 39 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:50,560 to network and communicate. You know, communication is so important, isn't it? For anything, for 40 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:57,339 marriage communication, for relationships, for family members and for the workplace everywhere. 41 00:04:57,620 --> 00:05:04,639 It's so important to be communicating and connecting so we can help one another. And especially in the 42 00:05:04,639 --> 00:05:10,839 Kingdom of God, it's so important for saints to be communicating and really sharing resources 43 00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:18,339 really and really sharing, participating with one another. We participate with churches even 44 00:05:18,339 --> 00:05:24,980 in this town that we're like-minded with and we share the load with them if they're involved in 45 00:05:24,980 --> 00:05:31,040 some things. So it's just a great time to really connect, to make connections, right? 46 00:05:31,980 --> 00:05:38,819 And so Paul is writing to these people in Rome and he's telling them, look, I want to connect. 47 00:05:38,980 --> 00:05:44,600 I'm going to see you again. And we have a map up here just as, again, you saw this last week, 48 00:05:46,279 --> 00:05:52,439 and you'll probably get tired of these maps, but they show us a lot. So if you can recall, 49 00:05:53,399 --> 00:06:02,800 Paul right now is in Corinth and he's writing to Rome and he eventually wants to get to Spain. 50 00:06:03,500 --> 00:06:07,720 So he's saying, look, I'll pass through, I'll hang out with you and I'll get to Spain someday. 51 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:13,980 And so this is the, all this purple by the first century, the second century, early 52 00:06:13,980 --> 00:06:19,579 second century is all the Roman Empire right here. Notice they just basically 53 00:06:19,579 --> 00:06:27,339 embrace the Mediterranean here. And so he's basically connected with so much of the Roman 54 00:06:27,339 --> 00:06:34,839 world, right? And they are networking again to bring the Kingdom of God. And so that's 55 00:06:34,839 --> 00:06:41,459 the setting here. And let's start diving into Romans 16. 56 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:54,819 Verse one, I commend to you, Phoebe, our sister, who is a servant of the church in Sancria, 57 00:06:56,040 --> 00:07:01,120 that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints 58 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:10,480 and assist her in whatever business she has need of you. For indeed, she has been a helper 59 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:20,360 of many and of myself also. This is impressive, because he met Phoebe in Sancria 60 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:25,600 and he's saying, when I send her to you, remember, she's going to carry this letter 61 00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:35,120 of Romans to Rome. I mean, this woman had some respect. I mean, think about this. Here's a letter 62 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:41,000 that we are reading almost 2000 years later that was entrusted to this woman. Now remember, 63 00:07:41,139 --> 00:07:48,199 it was back in the day. It was a man's world and still some claim it is still today. But back 64 00:07:48,199 --> 00:07:54,300 then it was like women were second or third class citizens, right? And yet he was trusting 65 00:07:54,300 --> 00:08:01,639 this letter to Phoebe to deliver a letter that we are still reading today. Now, I believe God's 66 00:08:01,639 --> 00:08:05,259 providence, he would get it there one way or another. He would have gotten it into our hands 67 00:08:05,259 --> 00:08:12,100 regardless. But he used Phoebe to do it. And so let's talk about Phoebe just briefly. 68 00:08:12,819 --> 00:08:18,639 Paul met Phoebe when he was on his second missionary journey. If we could show that 69 00:08:18,639 --> 00:08:28,519 next map and this green represents the second missionary journey. And so while he was in 70 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:36,399 Sancria, which is right around here, he met her and he got to know her there. 71 00:08:37,399 --> 00:08:46,240 Now this place in Sancria, we have a zoomed in map of that area. And here it is. 72 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:52,559 Okay. And so she was living there and this is where he met her. And when we look at this, 73 00:08:52,559 --> 00:08:58,580 this is called the Isthmus. You ever hear of that? It's like a four mile stretch of land. 74 00:08:59,379 --> 00:09:05,259 And it's interesting. Ships would come and deliver their goods. And if they're small enough 75 00:09:05,259 --> 00:09:13,960 they would actually put them on wheels and roll them across. And then they would sail on 76 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:19,960 from there. Did you ever hear about that? It's pretty cool. It was called the Diaclos. 77 00:09:22,559 --> 00:09:28,159 I think we have a picture of it. It was like this. They put huge cobblestones. 78 00:09:30,079 --> 00:09:39,620 And they've uncovered these trails. They were built in 600 BC. And so they were set there so 79 00:09:39,620 --> 00:09:46,399 that they could carry these smaller ships of merchant across this piece of land on to the next 80 00:09:46,399 --> 00:09:51,840 gulf and move on from there. That's kind of a lame looking one. Here's another one that's 81 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:58,100 they've uncovered, which is really wide and expansive, the Diaclos. And so this is what they 82 00:09:58,100 --> 00:10:04,759 did. And I bring this up just because this was an area, this point of commerce was instrumental 83 00:10:04,759 --> 00:10:12,360 in bringing goods from one place on to the next to Rome. So it was a place of commerce. 84 00:10:12,820 --> 00:10:20,120 And this was where Phoebe lived. She knew business. She knew how to wheel and deal. In fact, when it 85 00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:24,860 says she was a helper, the whole meaning of that is really like she was a patroness. In other 86 00:10:24,860 --> 00:10:33,259 words, she knew how to get resources, distribute them. She was an administrative, very shrewd 87 00:10:33,259 --> 00:10:41,440 woman. And isn't it interesting how the Lord chooses someone who is gifted in that already, 88 00:10:41,860 --> 00:10:48,659 and then when she gets saved, now she knows why she has these giftings. You're the same way. 89 00:10:48,860 --> 00:10:54,759 If you're handy, right, and you can make things, okay, you could build things like NVU, first 90 00:10:54,759 --> 00:11:02,779 of all, okay. And I'm very bad with that, okay. I've tried some things worked out, many things 91 00:11:02,779 --> 00:11:07,799 did not, okay. Too many trips to Home Depot. It wasn't worth my time anymore, right. But, 92 00:11:08,139 --> 00:11:11,720 you know, if you're handy, you know, you're just a, you're good at doing things. Suddenly, 93 00:11:11,799 --> 00:11:16,580 you get saved and now it takes on a whole new meaning. You still use it to make money, 94 00:11:16,580 --> 00:11:21,220 but your money goes into the kingdom. You're at times you can help others with this, 95 00:11:21,220 --> 00:11:28,320 with this gift of yours. All of you, you know, tax accountant Steve's helping the church in accounting. 96 00:11:28,580 --> 00:11:34,100 The things you're gifted at, you've been preordained to be gifted at those things. 97 00:11:34,620 --> 00:11:40,179 Now when you get saved, you come alive and realize, hey, I have the gift of music. Wow, 98 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:45,039 I know how to use it now, right. You're using it for the kingdom of God. So here is this 99 00:11:45,039 --> 00:11:51,419 Phoebe that was gifted in so many ways. And when she gets saved, now she knows how to use 100 00:11:51,419 --> 00:11:57,340 this gift. You know, back to Centria just for another minute, because it's interesting. That's 101 00:11:57,340 --> 00:12:06,299 the only reason. But the next slide is around 1893. Do you have that slide of the, this is 102 00:12:06,299 --> 00:12:12,600 the Corinth Canal. You ever hear of this place? And so in the late 1800s, they actually, 103 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:17,759 remember this was the Isthmus where they drug little boats across. Well, they finally dug it out. 104 00:12:17,879 --> 00:12:23,759 Now that's a, you know, a tourist attraction and a great place of goods again to pass through. 105 00:12:24,259 --> 00:12:31,940 So anyway, this was the area. And so he met her there. And, you know, when I was thinking about 106 00:12:31,940 --> 00:12:37,179 this woman Phoebe, it just reminded me, we don't have time to dig into it, but Proverbs 31 107 00:12:37,179 --> 00:12:46,039 versus 10 to 31 is amazing. The whole book of Proverbs ends with what a virtuous wife looks like. 108 00:12:46,679 --> 00:12:50,200 Well, the reality of it, she's a virtuous woman before she became a wife. 109 00:12:50,700 --> 00:12:55,700 She was gifted in so many things. When you get a chance, read that. But it's a woman who just 110 00:12:55,700 --> 00:13:02,240 is never idle with her hands. She's skilled. She knows how to do things. And she's always 111 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:07,419 pursuing excellence. You know, you could say, well, I'm not into that. Well, you know, but really, 112 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:14,240 this is a virtue that all of us can attain in whatever level God has called us to be. 113 00:13:15,019 --> 00:13:19,960 And so anyway, this was the kind of woman that Phoebe was. And I just want to mention 114 00:13:20,560 --> 00:13:25,440 a couple of other things that, you know, Paul knew several of these kinds of ladies that 115 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:33,039 were just gifted. And what I marvel at is again, it was back in a day that women were not respected 116 00:13:33,039 --> 00:13:39,840 the way they are now. And yet they were so pivotal to bringing the gospel to the known world. 117 00:13:40,259 --> 00:13:46,019 Remember Lydia with the purple, you know, that Paul met Jesus. He met some women that actually 118 00:13:46,019 --> 00:13:58,100 financed his ministry. One was married. Her name was Joanna. She was the wife of Herod's 119 00:13:58,100 --> 00:14:03,899 administrator, King Herod. And so she financed. I don't know if I don't know if her husband 120 00:14:03,899 --> 00:14:09,539 knew about it, but she did. Okay. And she financed the kingdom of God. I'm sure he did. 121 00:14:09,539 --> 00:14:16,299 But so anyway, this is just truly amazing. This woman is carrying this letter to Rome. 122 00:14:16,539 --> 00:14:21,879 So let's read on greet. Now, again, when he says greet, just to make it clear, 123 00:14:22,379 --> 00:14:29,419 he's saying greet someone who is there in Rome. Many of the people he had done ministry with 124 00:14:29,419 --> 00:14:36,700 have now moved to Rome. And the one is a couple named Aquila and Priscilla. 125 00:14:36,700 --> 00:14:44,120 So he says, greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their own 126 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:51,539 necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. 127 00:14:52,019 --> 00:14:59,679 Likewise, greet the church that is in their house. So here Aquila and Priscilla went 128 00:14:59,679 --> 00:15:07,980 back to Rome and started a church in their own house. So I just love these connections of humanity. 129 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:15,500 So Paul met Aquila and Priscilla while he was in Corinth, where he is right now. They had since 130 00:15:15,500 --> 00:15:21,840 moved to Rome. So we have a picture here. Again, I think of the map. And so on his 131 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:31,240 second journey here, he met them in Corinth. And they again later moved to Rome, but he was there. 132 00:15:31,779 --> 00:15:36,500 And while he was there, he met them. And we have the verse in which where he met them 133 00:15:36,500 --> 00:15:43,879 in Acts chapter 18, verses two and three. And he found a certain Jew named Aquila born in Pontus, 134 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:50,580 who had recently come from Italy and his wife, Priscilla, because they were cast out by 135 00:15:51,220 --> 00:15:59,620 Emperor Claudius. And he cast them all out. And he stayed with them because he was of the same trade. 136 00:15:59,960 --> 00:16:06,039 He stayed with them and they were working for their trade was to make tents, tent makers. 137 00:16:06,519 --> 00:16:12,180 So if you ever hear, oh, I'm a tent maker. There's so many tent makers. You're probably a tent 138 00:16:12,279 --> 00:16:20,840 maker because those who are working in the outside world and also serving the kingdom of God, 139 00:16:21,019 --> 00:16:28,440 that's the healthiest place to be. It really is really in, in the community, in the real world 140 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:33,559 and making your living in that and doing things in the real world. That's where you're meeting 141 00:16:33,559 --> 00:16:40,019 people. That's where you're making an impact for the gospel. You know what happens when you 142 00:16:40,019 --> 00:16:46,379 become just isolated in an echo chamber, in a bubble of Christianity, you're not useful anymore. 143 00:16:46,679 --> 00:16:52,500 You start to become less and less useful to the outside world, right? And so it's really good 144 00:16:52,500 --> 00:16:56,919 for us to be tent makers thinking, you know, I'm going to do what I do, but I'm going to do it 145 00:16:56,919 --> 00:17:04,660 out in the field to meet people and actually show them what Jesus looks like while he's 146 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:13,019 swinging a hammer, okay? While he's doing taxes, okay? While he's doing whatever you do, that's 147 00:17:13,019 --> 00:17:19,440 what Jesus looks like when you're doing that, right? And so that's the idea. So he hung out with them 148 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:29,720 and then from there, they, he left there with them and went to Ephesus. And I hope I'm not 149 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:36,539 worried with this, but we'll get through it. So he goes, he hops on a ship with Aquila and Priscilla 150 00:17:36,539 --> 00:17:43,880 and heads to Ephesus, okay? As you know, because they're on their way back now on this second journey. 151 00:17:44,440 --> 00:17:53,180 And then when they get to Ephesus, he leaves them there. We have this verse in 1818. 152 00:17:55,620 --> 00:18:01,180 So Paul still remained a good while. And then he took leave and brought Priscilla and Aquila, 153 00:18:01,460 --> 00:18:08,500 were with him and he had his hair cut there. He had an oath for he had taken a vow and he came 154 00:18:08,500 --> 00:18:14,940 to Ephesus and he left them there in Ephesus, right? Now, what did they do in Ephesus? 155 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:21,960 They started a church in their house. In fact, we see this when Paul wrote back to Corinth 156 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:29,880 from Ephesus in 1 Corinthians 1619. He says, the churches of Asia greet you, Aquila and Priscilla 157 00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:37,099 greet you heartily in the Lord with the church that is in their house. So here Aquila and Priscilla 158 00:18:37,099 --> 00:18:43,960 were church planters. Now they're doing it in Rome. Then they were doing it in Athens. So you're 159 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:48,960 seeing the movement of people, but they're always doing the thing for the kingdom, right? 160 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:58,339 And so from there, Paul left them. While they were there in Athens, suddenly this guy comes along 161 00:18:58,339 --> 00:19:07,460 who's very gifted at speaking. And he knows the Word of God inside and out. And he even understands 162 00:19:07,460 --> 00:19:14,819 who Christ is, but he never became born again. There's a lot of people like that. 163 00:19:15,619 --> 00:19:20,400 They know a lot of things. We were having a conversation about that yesterday with some friends 164 00:19:20,980 --> 00:19:29,200 about how many, so many new podcasts and other things are coming out where people seem to, 165 00:19:29,319 --> 00:19:34,900 are they a believer? Are they? They're almost there. And I say that because they understand 166 00:19:34,900 --> 00:19:41,900 a lot, but they haven't died yet. You have to die to live, right? You can keep packing in 167 00:19:41,900 --> 00:19:46,980 knowledge and knowledge and knowledge. I think you know all kinds of things, but until you die, 168 00:19:47,079 --> 00:19:54,059 you're still dead. You're not alive. You have to die to live. Strange concept, but it's the gospel. 169 00:19:54,400 --> 00:19:59,660 Unless you lose your life from me, you won't find it, right? And so Paulus comes along, 170 00:20:00,179 --> 00:20:04,099 he's preaching everything. All of a sudden Aquila and Priscilla are kind of like watching him 171 00:20:04,099 --> 00:20:10,200 and saying, I think he's missing something here. He doesn't get it yet. And so we have this 172 00:20:10,820 --> 00:20:19,740 when they spoke to him in Acts chapter 18 verse 26. So he, Apollos began to speak boldly in the synagogue 173 00:20:19,740 --> 00:20:25,740 and when Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God 174 00:20:26,360 --> 00:20:32,259 more accurately. When you hear someone and they're almost there, even though like Jimmy was 175 00:20:32,259 --> 00:20:38,220 mentioned, that one kid he was talking to knew a lot, but he wasn't quite there. You know, 176 00:20:38,220 --> 00:20:44,619 push them over the edge. I say that lovingly. When you know the right at the threshing floor of 177 00:20:44,619 --> 00:20:53,799 understanding say, but did you ever surrender your life to Jesus? You have to just give it all. You 178 00:20:53,799 --> 00:21:01,279 can know a lot, but until you die, you can't live. And they saw this in Apollos and they spoke to 179 00:21:01,279 --> 00:21:07,559 him and because of their ministry, Apollos went on to be dynamic for the gospel. In fact, 180 00:21:07,559 --> 00:21:15,980 Paul even said, you know, I sow seed. Okay. I'm a planter, but Apollos man, he comes along and he 181 00:21:15,980 --> 00:21:24,839 waters it. He really, he brings that like connection of application because he's so gifted at that, 182 00:21:24,900 --> 00:21:30,839 you know, and there was no competition. He was welcoming the follow up of Apollos behind him 183 00:21:30,839 --> 00:21:36,819 to even further water the seed that he planted. That's what it's all about is about working 184 00:21:36,819 --> 00:21:43,619 together for who, for the glory of Jesus Christ, right? We work together, right? We're a network, 185 00:21:44,059 --> 00:21:51,740 right? And so let's read on from there. So he's saying, greet them. And then he's going to say, 186 00:21:51,799 --> 00:22:01,319 next, greet my beloved Apinatus, who is the first fruits of Achaia to Christ. Now, so this guy 187 00:22:01,319 --> 00:22:07,440 was the first one saved in Achaia. Let's just show this map up there again real quick. 188 00:22:08,180 --> 00:22:16,220 So this is basically Greece. Okay. So as Paul was coming through, he met this Apinatus and he got 189 00:22:16,220 --> 00:22:22,039 saved. And so he's saying, greet him because where is Apinatus now? He's up in Rome. Okay. 190 00:22:22,039 --> 00:22:24,359 Greet him too. So let's read on. 191 00:22:26,759 --> 00:22:35,359 Greet Mary, who labored much for us. Greet Andronicus and Junia. My countrymen and fellow prisoners 192 00:22:35,359 --> 00:22:44,480 who are of note among the apostles who also were in Christ before me. Now, these next few are 193 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:55,220 probably either still slaves or just recently freed. Greet Amplius, my beloved in the Lord. 194 00:22:55,640 --> 00:23:05,180 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ. And Stakus, my beloved. Greet Apelus, approved in 195 00:23:05,180 --> 00:23:12,599 Christ. These were names that were actually found in the list of servants in the emperor's 196 00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:20,859 empire. Okay. They actually found these names written near each other in this list. So 197 00:23:20,859 --> 00:23:28,400 they were probably slaves at one time. And so there they are in the empire serving again. 198 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:34,640 And then he goes from there and he says, greet those who are of the household of 199 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:43,640 Aristobelus. Okay. Greet Herodian, my countrymen. Greet those who are of the household of 200 00:23:44,799 --> 00:23:49,900 Narcissus who are in the Lord. I didn't know our Narciso was in the Bible. Is he here today? 201 00:23:49,900 --> 00:24:00,779 Anyway, greet Trefina and Trefosa. They're probably sisters who have labored in the Lord. 202 00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:06,519 Greet the beloved Persis who labored much in the Lord. Greet Rufus. I thought you love that 203 00:24:06,519 --> 00:24:13,160 name. Rufus. Okay. Chosen in the Lord and his mother and mind. So this was a woman that he 204 00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:20,519 considered his spiritual mother. Rufus was probably the son of Simon the Cyrene 205 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:26,940 who actually carried Christ's cross. You know, I always thought you saw that the passion probably, 206 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:35,220 right? Imagine like actually that connection to Christ who actually carried his cross part of 207 00:24:35,220 --> 00:24:42,900 the way to the savior of mankind. I just can't imagine. Like you're carrying this holy cross 208 00:24:43,460 --> 00:24:52,359 and you're seeing a holy Jesus bloodied with all the torture that he already went through 209 00:24:52,359 --> 00:24:58,380 and this crown of thorns and the blood just streaming down his face. And you're probably like, 210 00:24:59,059 --> 00:25:02,519 like you don't know what to make of it. I always wonder what happened to him? 211 00:25:02,519 --> 00:25:09,039 Well, probably he got saved and his son Rufus did too, because now we see his name mentioned. 212 00:25:09,180 --> 00:25:17,240 Was it the same Rufus? Well, I'm going with it. Anyway, chosen in now chosen the Lord. Greet. 213 00:25:17,539 --> 00:25:21,980 There's so many stories behind these people. So I don't want to go too long with this, but 214 00:25:22,620 --> 00:25:31,559 greet Asyncratus, Flagon, Hermes, Patrabas, Hermes, and the brethren who are with them. 215 00:25:32,220 --> 00:25:38,680 Greet Philagoras. I'm glad that's not my name. And Julia and Narius and his sister 216 00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:44,940 and Olympus and all the saints who are with them. You know, these are all like he misses 217 00:25:44,940 --> 00:25:50,880 these people because he served with them. He was there when they got saved. They were there 218 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:54,920 mentoring him, you know, because like he said, he met some people that were already saved. 219 00:25:55,480 --> 00:26:03,619 And so from there, verse 16, greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you. 220 00:26:03,740 --> 00:26:08,319 You know, what's a holy kiss? We're in this culture. We're not much into kissing. 221 00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:12,799 You know, I'm kind of glad, you know, we don't really kiss each other all the time. And, 222 00:26:12,900 --> 00:26:18,619 you know, you know, but we hug. I love hugging, you know, sometimes it's difficult 223 00:26:18,619 --> 00:26:23,059 when I hug a big guy because I'm like, you know, I'm buried in their belly with my face. 224 00:26:23,319 --> 00:26:27,660 That's not the most fun thing, but no offense. I want to do it anyway, because I love you guys, 225 00:26:27,859 --> 00:26:34,000 right? But like we hug, okay? And that got us in trouble sometimes around COVID. You people 226 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:39,259 keep hugging six feet. But anyway, that's another story. But like hugging, I love hugging, 227 00:26:39,380 --> 00:26:43,279 you know, because like you care about the person. It's that connection, you know, 228 00:26:43,579 --> 00:26:46,579 when the Middle East, of course, they kiss on either side of the face and all that. 229 00:26:46,579 --> 00:26:52,759 But what's a holy kiss? And as I was contemplating this, I love Psalm 8510. 230 00:26:53,759 --> 00:27:00,480 Mercy and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed. 231 00:27:01,319 --> 00:27:05,700 Isn't that a beautiful verse? And you think about, look at that wonderful, beautiful verse. 232 00:27:06,779 --> 00:27:15,160 Mercy, we are people of mercy. If you're a believer, you know what mercy is, right? 233 00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:23,200 You know, boldly a throne, boldly a throne, boldly approach the throne of grace where you will receive 234 00:27:25,779 --> 00:27:32,619 mercy, right? And find grace. Like we know what mercy is. His mercy is new every more. I mean, 235 00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:41,099 we are subjects of his mercy. You know, we need, we just embrace his mercy. And then we find the 236 00:27:41,099 --> 00:27:45,500 grace, which is even getting what you don't deserve. God's riches at Christ's expense. 237 00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:52,779 We are people of truth. He is the way, truth and the life. We wear that belt of truth because we 238 00:27:52,779 --> 00:28:01,380 know what truth is. Jesus Christ is the truth. He's the one who holds all things together. He 239 00:28:01,380 --> 00:28:09,440 is truth. Jesus Christ, the creator of all things. Without Jesus, you have nothing, right? 240 00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:18,019 Apart from him. With him, you have everything you need for life. Next is righteousness. We are the 241 00:28:18,019 --> 00:28:23,680 righteousness of Christ. He who knew no sin became sin on the cross so that we would become his 242 00:28:24,860 --> 00:28:29,859 righteousness. We wear the breastplate of righteousness because that's who we are. 243 00:28:30,220 --> 00:28:35,700 We are righteous. We are in right standing with God, even when we're not acting like it. 244 00:28:35,700 --> 00:28:42,660 We're still the righteousness of Christ. We are, we know peace. You know, the prince of peace. 245 00:28:43,299 --> 00:28:49,400 Behold, I give you peace. I do not give as the world gives, but I give true peace. I used to love that 246 00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:58,500 shirt that said, no peace. No, wait, what was it again? But it said no peace. Now I'm forgetting it. 247 00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:12,339 Okay. Yeah. No, no K and O W peace. Okay. Nope. I don't know. I just thought of it now. I should 248 00:29:12,339 --> 00:29:19,900 practice these things, but no peace. If you, you won't have peace unless you know the peace of Jesus. 249 00:29:20,099 --> 00:29:26,220 That's the whole point of it, right? But really we, and so when we can hug, we don't kiss. We can if 250 00:29:26,220 --> 00:29:33,940 you want, but, you know, but when we hug, we hug with a holy hug because we, we are the subjects 251 00:29:33,940 --> 00:29:39,700 of mercy, truth, righteousness and peace. Amen. All right. We're gonna, we're going off the 252 00:29:39,700 --> 00:29:47,299 exit ramp here now. So we're on verse 17. Now I urge you brethren, know those who cause divisions 253 00:29:47,299 --> 00:29:55,839 and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you learned and avoid them for those who are such, 254 00:29:56,059 --> 00:30:04,319 do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but serve their own belly and by smooth words and flattering 255 00:30:04,319 --> 00:30:11,160 speech deceive the hearts of the simple. That doesn't mean stupid. It actually means harmless 256 00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:18,519 and trusting. And so he's saying, be careful, watch out for these people with false doctrine. 257 00:30:19,019 --> 00:30:22,339 You know, they feed their belly and the whole, we could see what he's saying. 258 00:30:23,079 --> 00:30:29,559 They're, they, they preach new weird things, right? So that people say, Oh, let me hear what 259 00:30:29,559 --> 00:30:34,240 he had. I've never heard this before. You know, be careful. If you start to hear a gospel, 260 00:30:34,420 --> 00:30:41,500 you've never heard before a new idea. I mean, really, I shouldn't have a brand new idea about 261 00:30:41,500 --> 00:30:46,880 something that's never been thought of before because it's the same Holy spirit, right? If 262 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:52,680 I suddenly come out with this cockamamie idea about something, you know, you should start 263 00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:58,740 being subject of this because the Holy spirit has taught generation after generation of generation 264 00:30:58,740 --> 00:31:07,359 of students who dug and dug and dug deep into the word of God. And we should at least sound similar 265 00:31:07,359 --> 00:31:12,859 to them, right? Because it's the same Holy spirit. It's the same word of God. If there's suddenly 266 00:31:12,859 --> 00:31:18,900 this epiphany that I have, be careful. You know, that's how the Mormon started. That's how Jehovah's 267 00:31:18,900 --> 00:31:24,359 witnesses started. It's they had this epiphany that someone else spoke to them, you know, 268 00:31:24,359 --> 00:31:28,140 and he's saying, be careful of these because most of them are in it for what? 269 00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:34,180 Themselves, their own belly, their own way of life, their own lifestyle, you know, 270 00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:38,079 so that they could buy the big cars or eat the good food or live in the big houses. 271 00:31:38,380 --> 00:31:43,619 It's not about Jesus Christ, right? So he's saying, be very careful. Paul says this in another 272 00:31:43,619 --> 00:31:51,880 place in Philippians 3, 18, 19, for many walk by whom I told you often and now tell you 273 00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:59,700 weeping that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ whose end is destruction, whose God is 274 00:31:59,700 --> 00:32:09,119 their belly and whose glory is in their shame. So set who set their mind on earthly things. 275 00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:14,900 See, they see all this enjoyment of the saints and they're like, how do I tap into this? 276 00:32:15,039 --> 00:32:20,079 Remember Simon the Sorcerer sees Peter laying hands on people. They're falling out, 277 00:32:20,079 --> 00:32:23,460 they're receiving the Holy Spirit, they're praying in tongues and Simon's like saying, 278 00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:29,740 how can I capitalize on this? You know, it's like there's something happening here 279 00:32:29,740 --> 00:32:35,279 and I want to benefit from it. That's the whole idea. You know, and he's saying, be careful of 280 00:32:35,279 --> 00:32:43,519 those things. Verse 19, for your obedience has become known to all. Therefore, I am glad 281 00:32:44,079 --> 00:32:50,900 on your behalf, but I want you to be wise in what is good and again, simple, a different 282 00:32:50,900 --> 00:32:56,500 version of simple, simple concerning evil. This again doesn't mean stupid, it actually means 283 00:32:56,500 --> 00:33:05,480 unmixed, uncontaminated, unblended with evil. He's saying, you know, be careful of these things 284 00:33:05,480 --> 00:33:12,579 because I want you to really be pure, pure Christ, not adulterated with these other 285 00:33:12,579 --> 00:33:22,839 teachings. I want you to be wise. I love what Jesus said to the 12 disciples as he was sending them out 286 00:33:22,839 --> 00:33:29,759 in Matthew 10, 16. He says, behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, 287 00:33:29,980 --> 00:33:38,660 so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. You know, as believers, we should know the 288 00:33:38,660 --> 00:33:44,400 tactics of the devil and say, not that we study him, but realize he's trying to 289 00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:51,099 contaminate my walk or someone else's walk. You know, there's a lot of teachings out there 290 00:33:51,099 --> 00:33:58,200 that are gradually pulling people away from a walk in the Holy Spirit with Christ, right? 291 00:33:58,619 --> 00:34:02,519 And so again, he's warning them. And then finally, let's finish up. 292 00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:11,880 And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 293 00:34:12,619 --> 00:34:20,440 be with you, amen. Crush Satan under your feet shortly. When Jesus was sending out the 70 294 00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:26,539 disciples, remember first it was 12, then it was 70 and he would send them out before wherever 295 00:34:26,539 --> 00:34:31,059 he was about to go. Okay, so they could kind of mess it up a little bit and then he could 296 00:34:31,059 --> 00:34:35,920 clean it up. No, I'm kidding. You know, he could, they would go out and spread the word so that when 297 00:34:35,920 --> 00:34:44,960 he came, wow, this is him, right? And so he sent out the 70 and he said this in Luke 10, 19 and 20. 298 00:34:46,300 --> 00:34:53,800 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions. Think about that. 299 00:34:53,800 --> 00:35:01,760 You know, there's a lot of analogies to that obviously. These could be symbolic, okay, 300 00:35:03,219 --> 00:35:10,199 allegorical because in scriptures, they talk about these things really being symbolic of 301 00:35:10,199 --> 00:35:21,019 evil spirits and Satan. Okay, I have given you authority to tread on them and over all the 302 00:35:21,019 --> 00:35:28,239 power of the enemy and nothing shall hurt you. Do you believe that? Like, are you afraid of Satan? 303 00:35:28,820 --> 00:35:32,960 I heard a cool quote this morning. I was listening to a message and he said, 304 00:35:33,019 --> 00:35:40,480 the only time I address Satan is when he's in my scope. I like that anyway, but maybe you don't, 305 00:35:40,800 --> 00:35:50,159 but he was a hunter. So nevertheless, do not rejoice in this. So even through the fact that 306 00:35:50,159 --> 00:36:00,760 we are impervious to the devil, if we stay surrounded and empowered by the Holy Spirit, 307 00:36:01,500 --> 00:36:06,380 you know, and we wear the armor of God, we're impervious to the devil. He cannot have at your 308 00:36:06,380 --> 00:36:12,599 life. Isn't that amazing? He cannot penetrate God's protection. The angel of the Lord encamps 309 00:36:12,599 --> 00:36:18,420 himself around those who love him. We have a force field around us that is impervious 310 00:36:18,420 --> 00:36:26,420 to the devil. Isn't that awesome? But don't even celebrate that. Rejoice in this, that the spirits 311 00:36:26,420 --> 00:36:32,380 are subject. Don't rejoice in that, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Isn't that 312 00:36:32,380 --> 00:36:37,960 amazing? You know, yes, it's great to have power down here and we do. We're going to start preaching 313 00:36:37,960 --> 00:36:44,940 about power, you know, the power that the saint has in this world to bring the gospel, 314 00:36:45,659 --> 00:36:53,760 that the enemy cannot penetrate you unless it's by God's permission for a specific reason. Remember 315 00:36:53,760 --> 00:36:59,059 Paul with the thorn in his side that was a messenger from who? Not from God, from Satan, 316 00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:06,440 but it was designed to make Paul even greater than he already was. If the if the Lord allows 317 00:37:06,440 --> 00:37:11,480 something in, it's to make you greater. Isn't that amazing? Not you for yourself, 318 00:37:11,480 --> 00:37:17,559 you greater for Christ to bring glory to God as as the worship team comes up 319 00:37:19,160 --> 00:37:22,559 and they start to give out the elements. 320 00:37:25,519 --> 00:37:32,940 I'll just finish this as they're coming forward. Timothy, my fellow worker and Lucius, 321 00:37:32,940 --> 00:37:38,000 Jason and Sop, Sosipater. There we go. 322 00:37:40,039 --> 00:37:48,699 My countrymen greet you. I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord. So of 323 00:37:48,699 --> 00:37:54,840 course Paul, you know, used scribes to write, especially with his eyesight. He needed that, 324 00:37:54,960 --> 00:37:59,739 but many of them did anyway, probably because they were at what pace or thought and pondered 325 00:37:59,739 --> 00:38:06,880 what they wanted to write and the scribe was there to capture it. And then from there he says, 326 00:38:08,280 --> 00:38:16,039 Gaius, my host and the host of the whole church, greet you. Erastus, the treasure of the city. 327 00:38:16,260 --> 00:38:21,360 Paul was making some impact. I mean, he was influencing friends and winning enemies, right, 328 00:38:21,500 --> 00:38:27,260 for the kingdom. He's actually writing on behalf of the treasure of Corinth. 329 00:38:27,260 --> 00:38:34,440 Can you imagine what a significant position that is in Corinth, which was the crossroads of 330 00:38:34,440 --> 00:38:40,659 trade between Rome and the Mediterranean? I mean, that was impressive. And yet, 331 00:38:40,679 --> 00:38:48,519 Paul not only knows him, but he serves with him. He greets you and Quartus, a brother. 332 00:38:49,980 --> 00:38:53,940 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. 333 00:38:55,039 --> 00:39:04,460 And then finally, now to him who was able to establish you according to my gospel and the 334 00:39:04,460 --> 00:39:11,460 preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the 335 00:39:11,460 --> 00:39:20,659 world began, but now made manifest and by the prophetic scriptures made known to all the nations 336 00:39:20,659 --> 00:39:27,659 according to the commandment of the everlasting God for obedience to the faith to God alone, 337 00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:36,500 wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen. Paul certainly has a way to end the letter, 338 00:39:36,639 --> 00:39:43,239 doesn't he? I think he has the longest run on sentences ever, but it's powerful. You know, 339 00:39:43,239 --> 00:39:53,159 Paul grasped what he was given and he grasped the, the magnificent connections he was making 340 00:39:53,159 --> 00:40:01,260 for longevity, for eternity. I mean, just imagine, you know, the impact he was making 341 00:40:01,880 --> 00:40:05,360 and yet he realized it's not about me. It's about Jesus Christ. 342 00:40:10,260 --> 00:40:16,019 Thanks for joining us at Lansdale Life Church as we praise God and discuss his word. 343 00:40:16,739 --> 00:40:22,139 Don't forget to join us for worship live Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. Eastern on YouTube. 344 00:40:23,039 --> 00:40:25,320 Be blessed and have a great day.